The Frank Show
Written & illustrated by David Mackintosh
HarperCollins Children's Books. 2018.
32pp HB picture book.
Grandad Frank is a real class act.
Kristian's dad is a comedian, Paolo's mum is Italian and speaks Italian, Donny's dad works at a crisp factory. And my grandad's name is Frank.
If you had to stand up and talk for one whole minute about a member of your family, who would you choose? Everyone else picks really interesting people, like Tom's uncle who plays the drums, or Hannah's mum who has a company car. But what's so special about Frank?
"There was no such thing as foil when I was a boy." Frank.
They say…
As in Marshall Armstrong Is New to Our School, British author/illustrator Mackintosh presents a story of an ordinary boy being won over, reluctantly, by someone outside the mainstream. In this case, it’s the narrator’s grandfather, Frank, a quintessentially cantankerous specimen of a man who believes things were better in the good ol’ days… Mackintosh’s busy, helter-skelter images contribute mightily to the story’s humor and emotional honesty, but it’s the willful personalities of both of these protagonists that make it stand out. Publisher's Weekly US
…Mackintosh writes with irreverence, and his illustrations are packed with prickly humor… But Mackintosh also draws with emotional sensitivity and empathy: an image of the schoolyard, where a pensive girl fiddles with a stick (possibly torturing a snail), a boy chases desperately after a stolen ball and Frank’s grandson quietly dreads show-and-tell, forms an exquisitely fraught tableau of latent childhood terrors and bouts of isolation. Happily, in the end, the boy has his grandfather, whom he more fully respects and appreciates. The New York Times (Pamela Paul)
"Old-timey gripes gain zest from Mr. Mackintosh's exuberant and colorful collage illustrations." The Wall Street Journal
Roald Dahl Funny Prize long list, 2012.